Holders for paintings



April 1965 R. s. HUGHES 3,176,943

HOLDERS FOR PAINTINGS Filed Feb. 25, 1963 llllllllllllllllu l4 FIG. 2. FIG. I.

INVENTOR ROBERT S. Husnes ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,176,943 HGLDERS FOR PAH'NTWGS Robert S. Hughes, 23275 Ranchweod, outhfieltl, Mich. Filed Feb. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 260,7ti6 9 Claims. (tCi. Edd-3i?) ,ing to be framed. During this drying period and before the painting can be hung on a wall out of the way, the artist is faced with the problem of storing the painting until it can dry. He can leave the painting on the easel during this period but unless he has other easels, he will not be able to begin another painting until the first has 'dried. He can also do what most artists are presently doing and that is to find a safe place against a wall or on a window sill to set the painting until it has dried. If the 'artist is prolific such safe places are soon exhausted and there is always the danger of harm to the painting by falling or being bumped before it dries.

The present invention provides an inexpensive holder device which can be readily adjusted to accommodate paintings of various sizes and thicknesses and which is adapted to be secured to a wall or the like to retain the painting until it has completely dried. A clamping means has been provided which will securely clamp the painting in position and yet which does not engage the painted surface of the painting so that danger of damage to the painting produced by the holder is minimized.

It is an object then of the present invention to minimize the danger of damage to a painting during the time necessary for the painting to dry by providing a holder adapted to be secured to a wall or the like and to retain the painting out of danger until it has dried sufficiently to permit it to be properly framed.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a means for storing paintings until they have dried by providing an economically produced holder device which is adjustable to accommodate paintings of various sizes and thicknesses.

It is also an object of the present invention to improve holding devices for paintings and the like by providing a clamping means for such devices operable to clamp the painting in position without danger of damage to the painted surface thereof.

Further objects and advantages will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains upon reference to the following drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views and in which FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a holder device of the present invention and illustrating the preferred holder device in use,

FIG. 2 is a top elevational view of the device as seen substantially from the right side of FIG. 1 and with the painting removed for purposes of clarity, and

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view as seen substantially from line 33 of FIG. 2.

Now referring to the drawings for a more detailed description of the present invention, a preferred holder is illustrated as comprising an elongated fiat resilient base member 10 provided at one end with a perforation 12 and at the other end with an outwardly bent clamp portion 14. The base member it) is preferably axially grooved over a major portion of its length to form an axially extending recess 16 on the front face thereof and a similarly positioned rib 18 on the opposite or rear face of the base member 149.

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An adjustable clamping member 29 is provided with an outwardly extending clamping portion 22. As shown, it is preferred to construct the clamping portion 22 having a width somewhat greater than the width of the base member 10 and the clamp portion 14. This provides stability for the supported article. As can best be seen in FIG. 3, a base portion 24 of the clamping member 2% is provided on opposite sides with rearwardly and inwardly bent arms 26 which slidably engage the longitudinal edges of the base member If A thumb screw 28 is adapted to be threaded into an internally threaded boss portion 3-0 provided in the base portion 24. As shown in FIG. 3, the end of the threaded shank 32 of the thumb screw 28 engages in the recess 16 and urges the base member 1% to bear against the arms 26 to thereby lock the clamping member 26 in the desired longitudinal position on the base member N. A painting 34 is retained between the clamp portion 14 and the ciamping portion 22 as shown in FIG. 1.

As can best be seen in FIG. 1 the clamp portion 14 is bent outwardly from the base member 10 to provide a camming surface 15 which forms an angle A with respect to the base member lit, which angle is somewhat less than face 23 of the clamping portion 22 and the base member 10 is preferably somewhat less than angle A. The clamping portion 22 is provided with a return bent portion 36 and the clamp portion 14 is provided with a return bent portion 38.

By providing the clamping portion 22 and the clamp portion 14 with camming surfaces 23-15 respectively and which form angles A and B less than 90 as previ ously described, a holder device has been provided which will accommodate paintings 34 of various thicknesses and in which only the corner edges 35 of the painting 34 will be engaged by the clamp portion 14 and the clamping portion 22 as is clearly shown in FIG. 1, and yet the painting will be urged toward the base member 10 by the camming surfaces 1523 as though a clamping force was provided on the painted surface of the painting. The angle B is at about 45' so that on tightening the clamp, the painting is not only clamped against the base 10 but also between the surfaces 23 and 15. Thus a holder device has been provided in which the danger of damage to the painted surface caused by the holder device itself is minimized. The return bent portions 36 and 38 pro vide a safety means which will prevent the painting 34 from falling from the holder device if it is severely jarred or otherwise is released from engagement with the surface of the clamp portions 14-22.. It will be seen that the portions 36 and 38 are inclined forwardly so that if the painting is loose and slides forward, the portions 36 and 38 will still not touch the surface. By providing the clamping portion 22 of a somewhat greater width than the clamp portion 14, rotational displacement of the painting 34 with respect to the clamping portion 22 is prevented.

The recess 16 will be seen to permit the clamping 'member 20 to freely slide along the base member 19 when the thumb screw 28 is loosened the required Each time the thumb screw 28 is tightened against the base member 1! burrs are formed which without the provision of the recess 16 would interfere with the movement of clamping member 20. By pro viding the recess 16, burrs which are formed by the thumb screw 28 are formed on the sides of the recess 16 and do not therefore become engaged with the clamping member 20 as it is moved to new positions. The provision of the recess Ed has the added advantage in that the rib 18 which is produced by the recess 16 strengthens the base member 10. The recess 16 ends short of the An angle B formed by a camming surwith respect to said base member;

53 ends of the base member 1t}, thereby preventing a loosened clamp from falling off since the end of the thumb screw 28is disposed in the recess even when loose.

The perforatibn '12 provides a means by which the holder device can be secured to a wall'or similar surface by a nailor the like(not shown) until the painting has dried sufiiciently to permit it to be stored.

It is apparent that an economically produced holder device has been provided in which the position of the clamping member can be adjusted to accommodate paintings of various sizes. The holder device will retain paintings of various thicknesses until they have dried and since the clamping portions of the holder device It is also apparent that although a single embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed, other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: v

1. A holder device for retaining a freshly 'painted painting or the like comprising (12) a flat elongated base member,

(b) a first clamping means being provided at one end of said base member,

(c) a second clamping means longitudinally adjustably slidably carried on said base member and coacting with said first clamping means to clamp a painting or the like to said base member,

(d) each of said clamping means having a camming surface engaging the corner edge of the painting and operable upon said second clamping; means being urged toward said first clamping means to urge the painting toward'said base member,

'(e) means for selectively locking said second clamping means in a desired longitudinal position on said said arms into clamping engagement whereby to lock said second clamping means in a desired longitudinal position on said base member,

said base member being provided with a longitudinally axially extending displaced portion forming a strengthening ribon one surface of said base member and a depression on'the opposite surface of said base member,

said last mentioned means comprising a screw member carried by said base portion in a position confronting said depression,

said depression, being formed of sufficient depth such that burrs formed therein due to engagement of said screw member with the sides of :said depression do not contact said base por- 'tion as said base portion is moved to new positions, and

said depression terminating short of the endsof said base member whereby to prevent said base portion from falling otfthe ends of said base member.

The device as defined in claim 1 and inwhich each of said camming surfaces form an angle of less than 90 3. The device as defined in claim 2 and in which said angle of said second mentioned. clamping means camming surface is smaller than the angle formed by said first mentioned clamping means camming surface.

4. A holder device for retaining a freshly painted painting or the like comprising (a) a flat elongated base member,

(I?) a first clamping means being provided at one end of said base member,

(0) a second clamping means longitudinally adjustably slidably carried on said base member and coacting with said first clamping means to clamp a painting or the like to said'base member,

(0?) said second clamping means comprising a flat base portion slidabiy engaging said base member and a pair ofoppositely extending'arms bent one toward the other and slidably clamping around said base member, a

(e) said base member being provided with a longitudinally axially extending displaced portion forming a depression in the surface of said base member engaged by said base portion of said second clamping means and a strengthening rib on the.op posite surface. of said base member, 7

'(f) a screw member carried by said base portion in a position to be tightened into said depression whereby to lock'said second clamping means to said base member in a desired longitudinal position,

(g) said depression being formed of sufiicient depth such that burrs formed therein as said screw member is tightened'into said depression do not contact said base portion as said base portion is moved to new positions along said base member.

5. The device as defined in claim 4 and including a perforation being providednear one end of said base member whereby said holder device may be secured to a wall or: the like.

6. The device asdefined in claim 4. and in which said depression terminates short of the ends of said base member whereby to prevent said base portion from. falling off the ends of said base member upon loosening of said second clamping means.

7. The device as defined in claim 4 and in which each of said clamping means is provided with a camming surface adapted to engage the corner edge of the painting and operable upon said second mentioned clamping means being urged toward said first mentioned clamping means to' urge the painting towardsaid base member.

8. T hedevice as defined in claim 7 and in which each of'said cammingsurfaces form an angle of less than 90 with respect to said base member.

9.. The device as defined in claim 7 and in which each of said camming surfaces form'an angle of less than 90 with respect to said base member and the angle formed face and said base member is smaller than the angle formed by said first mentioned clamping means camming surface and said base member. I

322,880 Wirts et al. July 21, 1885 -409,62l Welch Aug. 20, 1889 911,568 Brickford Feb. 9, 1909 937,954 Pearson Oct. 26, 1909 1,313,061 Brown Aug. 12, 1919 1,518,082 Limbach Dec. 2 1924 1,940,505 Pauliek, Dec. 19, 1933 1,981,254 Smith NOV. 20, 1934 2,005,870, Miller et al. June 25, 1935 2,852,222 Bogar Sept. 16,1958' 1 FOREIGN' PATENTS '167,573 Great Britain Aug. '10, 1921 V 366,178 Germany' 13cc. 30,1922 

4. A HOLDER DEVICE FOR RETAINING A FRESHLY PAINTED PAINTING OR THE LIKE COMPRISING (A) A FLAT ELONGATED BASE MEMBER, (B) A FIRST CLAMPING MEANS BEING PROVIDED AT ONE END OF SAID BASE MEMBER, (C) A SECOND CLAMPING MEANS LONGITUDINALLY ADJUSTABLY SLIDABLY CARRIED ON SAID BASE MEMBER AND COACTING WITH SAID FIRST CLAMPING MEANS TO CLAMP A PAINTING OR THE LIKE TO SAID BASE MEMBER, (D) SAID SECOND CLAMPING MEANS COMPRISIGN A FLAT BASE PORTION SLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID BASE MEMBER AND A PAIR OF OPPOSITELY EXTENDING ARMS BENT ONE TOWARD THE OTHER AND SLIDABLY CLAMPING AROUND SAID BASE MEMBER, (E) SAID BASE MEMBER BEING PROVIDED WITH A LONGI- 